1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to resealable and reclosable packages, and more particularly to a reclosable blister type package for displaying packaged goods in a container which can be opened and resealed without obvious or apparent damage.
2. Description of Related Art
A form of packaging commonly used in retail merchandising is the blister package designed for pegboard display. Generally, these types of packages have a cardboard backing, upon which product or advertising information is printed, and to which is attached a clear plastic blister assembly to form a container in which goods are displayed and held. A hole is formed at the top of the cardboard backing so that the package can be held on an extended peg of a pegboard display. In this manner large volumes of varied items can be held on a pegboard, in stores where shelf space is a premium.
This type of packaging is used for numerous and varied types of items and would includes such things as small quantities of nails, aftermarket automotive products (e.g. windshield wipers and wiper refills), batteries, and other items too numerous to mention. In the usual case, blister packaging is required when it is desirable to provide a convenient way of merchandising preselected number of units, such as a package containing four windshield wipers and/or refills. A second object of the conventional blister pack is to provide security for the goods, because the blister package is substantially bigger than the goods themselves, which makes pilferage and shoplifting much more difficult. An example of this would be a ballpoint pen, which if offered for sale in bulk and contained in a shelf bin, could easily be pilfered merely by picking up and inserting one in a shirt pocket. On the other hand, if held in a blister package, pilferage is a much more difficult and risky task, since the pilferer must break open the package to remove the pilferable contents.
As a result, most of the development work in the past has been directed toward providing blister package which are destroyed when opened. Typically, these blister packaging devices have a cardboard backing to which is attached a clear plastic assembly. An adhesive plastic material is first sprayed onto the surface of the cardboard, usually the entire surface in cases where the blister packaging is of the same relative size as the cardboard backing. Then the cardboard backing is positioned atop the blister pack assembly, together with its contents, and heat is applied to the flanged edges of the blister pack to bond the cardboard, plastic adhesive and blister pack assembly flanges together. This process is called heat sealing.
In order to open the package, the plastic assembly must be torn from the cardboard backing. An improvement in common use today, includes providing perforations in the cardboard backing to facilitate access to the goods through the cardboard.
A problem arises when it is desired to provide blister packaging suitable for pegboard display, wherein the blister back can easily be opened and reclosed/resealed without apparent damage to the packaging itself. This would be of value in situations where it is desirable to remove the goods from the package for inspection prior to purchase, or in cases where intended use of the goods is such that the purchaser will use only a few items at a time and wish to store, in the original packaging, the remaining items. Examples of these situations would be where a prospective purchaser of a set of windshield wipers or other products wherein the purchaser may purchase a plurality of items when only one or two are needed, with the rest to be stored for future use.
The need exists for a reclosable blister package made from one thermoformed plastic blister that can be easily opened and reclosed without damages to the package, which can be affixed to the backing card in a tamper resistant fashion, and which can be secured to the backing card while fully loaded.